Metallic Thunder
It's that time of year again when you can set your clock by the afternoon thunderstorms. I missed these up in the DC area...summer storms that rush upon you in a fury of thunder, wind, and rain, then disappear like the smoke of a newly extinguished candle.
Such a storm rages outside my office window as I type. Only moments ago we lost power for all of three seconds. Long enough to set the office equipment to beeping and whirring once power was restored.
There's a strange phenomenon that happens every time it thunders when I'm at work. Instead of the deep rumbling you associate with thunder, I hear a sound like empty oil drums being rolled around or like that metal sheeting sound effects people use to simulate thunder claps. There's a metallic tin sound to the thunder. It has something to do with how the sound bounces off the building; it's shaped like an L, and my office is in the crook of that L. I'm sure someone out there could tell me, scientifically, what is happening to make it sound that way. But I like to think that I'm simply part of a giant theatrical production, and the sound guys in the wings are shaking their metallic sheets.
Such a storm rages outside my office window as I type. Only moments ago we lost power for all of three seconds. Long enough to set the office equipment to beeping and whirring once power was restored.
There's a strange phenomenon that happens every time it thunders when I'm at work. Instead of the deep rumbling you associate with thunder, I hear a sound like empty oil drums being rolled around or like that metal sheeting sound effects people use to simulate thunder claps. There's a metallic tin sound to the thunder. It has something to do with how the sound bounces off the building; it's shaped like an L, and my office is in the crook of that L. I'm sure someone out there could tell me, scientifically, what is happening to make it sound that way. But I like to think that I'm simply part of a giant theatrical production, and the sound guys in the wings are shaking their metallic sheets.
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